A further five local businesses along the Cycle Superhighway have applied to the CityConnect Bike Friendly Business Scheme in a pledge to encourage more staff to cycle to work.
CityConnect will provide tailored support to each business in the form of expert advice, training or... continue

Future Cities Catapult has awarded funds to help SMEs to create a more data-driven and digitally enabled planning system. After inviting UK businesses, individuals, entrepreneurs and planning authorities to apply, nearly 90 entries were received, including:
• Using data to identify land for housing... continue

Section 160 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, which allows the inclusion of ‘related housing’ in A Development Consent Orders (DCOs), comes into force on 6 April 2017, bringing in housing to the Planning Act 2008 regime. DCLG has now issued Guidance on this, as Ministers said... continue

Twelve new Enterprise Zones have gone live, helping to boost economic growth from the north-east to the south-west. Announced in the Autumn Statement 2015, these new zones support businesses, helping budding entrepreneurs to start and established companies to grow. They offer business rates... continue

Councils will have new tools to speed up development of derelict and underused land for new homes, Housing and Planning Minister Gavin Barwell has confirmed. Local authorities across the country will now have to produce and maintain up-to-date, publicly available registers of brownfield sites... continue

Historic England has announced the first ten places to receive funding over the next three-to-five years. Through the programme, listed buildings that have been neglected will be restored and brought back into use as housing, retail or community spaces; conservation areas improved to kick start... continue

More than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments. Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and inadequate hygiene – take the lives of 1.7 million... continue

Newcastle City Council is preparing to set up a mutual organisation to take over its parks service, with substantial funding set to come from the public health department. The council has said it expects it will have no money for non-statutory services by 2017-18, reports Horticulture Week. The... continue

The Neighbourhood Planning Bill completed its report stage, a further chance to examine the bill and make changes, in the Lords on Tuesday 28 February. The House of Lords has voted in favour of an amendment that seeks to make it clear what clause 13’s intention is, and to clarify whether or... continue

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed that councils will continue to benefit from the long-term financial certainty of a 4-year funding settlement, helping them to plan ahead with confidence.
He also confirmed he is working closely with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to determine how... continue

The arrival of driverless autonomous vehicles (AVs) represents a unique opportunity for a fundamental change in urban mobility as long as public authorities and public transport companies take an active role now to integrate AVs into an effective public transport network. This is according to... continue

In early December URBACT launched a call for Good Practices, inviting Europe’s cities to put forward their most effective examples. The call remains open until 31st March. Across Europe, cities face formidable environmental, economic and social challenges. Affordable housing, business... continue

A free app that will allow Warwick students to share rides between Leamington and Campus is set to launch in January 2017 for iPhone and Android users.
Any Warwick student will be able to sign up for the app, called UniDrive, using their Warwick email address. The app will operate on a feedback... continue

EasyMile, an electric vehicle producer founded in 2014, specialises in providing both software powering autonomous vehicles and last mile smart mobility solutions. Together with public transport company Kolumbus and Forus PRT, EasyMile will start a pilot project at the Forus PRT business park in Stavenger, Norway, starting... continue

The National Infrastructure Commission has published its final report into 5G and telecommunication technology. 5G means seamless connectivity, says the NIC. 5G is 'Ultra-fast, ultra-reliable, ultra-high capacity transmitting at super low latency', it states. It will support the ever larger data requirements of the existing network and new... continue

Blackburn in Lancashire has won the top prize at the annual Great British High Street Awards. The competition, now in its third year, attracted over 900 entries from villages, market towns and larger towns across the UK.
The competition recognises work done to promote city locations, town centres,... continue

Local authorities are using new powers to seize and crush vehicles used by fly-tippers. Councils are also calling for the closure of a legal loophole that means enforcement officers have to give some fly-tippers seven days written warning before inspecting them and seizing evidence.
The Local... continue

James F Sallis, a specialist in Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego, writes in The Lancet Public Health about collated evidence that suggests that active and public transport contribute to improvements in Body Mass Index (BMI), so providing further support for public health and medical professionals to advocate for healthier city design and transportation policies.
He says: 'Advocacy... continue

The drastic shortage of housing among working people could be plugged with a Government-backed National Housing Fund of £100 billion over 10 years, providing up to 75,000 extra new homes a year, a report by the independent think tank ResPublica has found. Launched in late November, the new report on housing... continue

Speaking an an industry lunch in November, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid stated that: 'Getting the infrastructure right is absolutely vital if new developments are going to be successful and, crucially, be welcomed by local communities. They need the roads, the utilities, the internet... continue

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